The halal certificate of popular cake franchise and restaurant Secret Recipe has been withdrawn by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). However, JAKIM said the revocation of the halal certification for Secret Recipe Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is not due to the use of “haram ingredients” but over issues involving cleanliness.
A check on JAKIM’s halal database confirmed that the halal certification of Secret Recipe Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe Sdn Bhd have been revoked.
About an hour ago, JAKIM’s halal hub division director Hakimah Mohd Yusoff released an official statement via JAKIM’s Facebook page which read:
The revocation of the halal certification was because of a breach of the halal certification procedure manual involving serious offences on cleanliness and good manufacturing practices. This revocation was not caused by offences on the usage of haram ingredients in the processing of products. JAKIM would also like to advise users not to make all kinds of assumptions and circulate this matter in the wrong way
Hakimah also mentioned that her division has called in the companies, which promised to take immediate action and warned all holders of halal certification to constantly abide by JAKIM’s standards or face similar revocation.
The revocation took effect on 7th May 2015 but Secret Recipe can reapply for the halal certification after it takes remedial action and abides by the halal certification standards.
Source: food.malaysiamostwanted.com
Last year, a halal food status controversy worked its way up to news headlines when more thn 20 Malay-Muslim groups called for a nationwide boycott on all Cadbury products over the discovery of porcine DNA in a sample of its chocolates.
However, JAKIM later declared that the 2 batches of Cadbury chocolate products previously found “tainted with porcine DNA” are halal and safe for Muslim consumption.
Source: Malaysiakini / Featured image from here.